So I have finally done it - I have not only seen the Grand Canyon - I bloody hiked it!!! I am so proud of myself, the 6 mile Bright Angel Hike is rated the 7th most dangerous hike in the US. I was so exhausted by the end (hell, I was exhausted half-way through), but everytime I turned my head and saw the view I couldn't help but smile! The Grand Canyon is the epitomy of the ultimate American Roadtrip, though I did feel like after a while the excitement of being t...

Monument Valley was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. When we arrived in the Valley we took a tour in a jeep led by a Navajo named Richard, who was particularly fond of corny jokes and John Wayne Trivia. It did really feel like we must be in Warner Bros Studios or something, it was all so unreal! Like we should turn the corner and spy a hotdog stand. A couple of interesting stops were the "Mountains Eye" and one area with a super steep hill, which we all ran down. Didnt ...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! We drove to Sante Fe today, and the landscape is starting to grow on me, I think. Grass as yellow as the dirt that patches it, mountains fading away into the sky, small green shrubs that somehow resist the heat. The road stretches on relentlessly, with not a curve in sight. Every now and then we pass through a small, rusting town with four motels and not much else. I wouldn't be surprised if no one bothered to even put these towns on the ma...

Yesterday we had a long drive from Del Rio to Carlsbad, with scenery that barely changed. We passed lots of oil pumps - welcome to Texas! Also passed through a town called Loving, and Alex and I had a giggle reading messages about Loving on the noticeboard in the petrol station. We have yet to see a real-live-cowboy, but I'm pretty sure we saw a real-live-texan while we were reading those messages. He lumbered out of the bathroom and I caught Alex's eye and had t...

We stayed at a remote campsite by the Seminole Canyons, and the scenery was much more how I imagined Texas to be; vast, endless and damn dry. It was so green and lush in Houston -here the landscape lasts forever, with barely a break on the horizon. In the distance i could see gentle hills, still covered in the same dull grey/green of the cactie and spiky grass. The monotony is broken occasionnally by bright yellow patches of small flowers. I woke early this morni...